Little Rock Nine

The Little Rock Nine and Daisy Bates

The Little Rock Nine or the Little Rock Crisis refers to an incident in which nine African-American students were prevented from attending Little Rock Central High in 1957 during the Civil Rights Movement.

History.

Brown v. Topeka Board of Education.

The U.S. Supreme Court issued its historic Brown v. Topeka Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483, on May 17, 1954. The decision declared all laws establishing segregated schools to be unconstitutional, and it called for the desegregation of all schools in the nation. ^[1] After the decision, the NAACP attempted to register black students in previously all-white schools in cities throughout the South. In Little Rock, the capital city of Arkansas, the Little Rock School Board agreed to comply with the high court's ruling. Virgil Blossom, the Superintendent of Schools, submitted a plan of gradual integration to the school board on May 24, 1955, which the board unanimously approved. The plan would be implemented during the 1958 school year, which would begin in Sep. 1957. By 1957, the NAACP had registered nine black students to attend the previously all-white Little Rock Central High. ^[2]

Several segregationist "citizens' councils" threatened to hold protests at Central High and physically block the black students from entering the school. In response, Governor Faubus deployed the Arkansas National Guard to support the segregationists on Sep. 4, 1957. The sight of a line of soldiers blocking nine black students from attending high school made national headlines and polarized the city. On Sep. 9, 1957, "The Council of Church Women" issued a statement condemning the Governor's deployment of soldiers to the high school and called for a citywide prayer service on Sep. 12. Even President Dwight Eisenhower attempted to de-escalate the situation and summoned Governor Faubus to his vacation home in Newport, Rhode Island, on Sep. 14, 1957. The president warned the governor not to interfere with the Supreme Court's ruling. ^[3]

Attorneys from the U.S. Justice Department requested an injunction against the Governor's deployment of the National Guard from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas in Little Rock. Judge Ronald Davies granted the injunction and ordered the Governor to withdraw the National Guard on Sep. 20, 1957. ^[4]

The Governor backed down and withdrew the National Guard, and the Little Rock Police Department took their place. Hundreds of protesters, mostly parents of the white students attending Central High, remained entrenched in front of the school. On Monday, Sep. 23, 1957, the police quietly sneaked the nine students into the school. When the protesters learned that the nine black students were inside, they began confronting the outnumbered line of policemen. Under threat of a near riot, the nine students were escorted out of the school. ^[5]

The next day, Woodrow Mann, the Mayor of Little Rock, asked President Eisenhower to send federal troops to enforce integration and protect the nine students. The President deployed the 101st Airborne Division of the U.S. Army to escort the students to school on Sep. 25, 1957. The paratroopers of the division remained at the school for the rest of the school year. ^[6]

Nevertheless, the citizens' council continued to protest and pressured the Little Rock School Board into reversing its decision to desegregate the public schools. In August of 1958, with support from Governor Faubus and the Arkansas State Legislature, the school board canceled the entire 1959 school year for its three high schools rather than integrate them. Thousands of high school students left the city to attend high schools in other school districts, or enrolled in all-white private schools. One year later, additional federal court rulings and the Little Rock Chamber of Commerce pressured the school board into reopening the school system. By the fall of 1959, Little Rock public schools had reopened as an integrated school system. ^[2]

Little Rock Central High.

By the end of September of 1957, the nine were admitted to Little Rock Central High under the protection of the U.S. Army, but they were still subjected to a year of physical and verbal abuse by many of the white students. One of the students, Minnijean Brown was verbally confronted by a group of male white students in Dec. 1957 in the school cafeteria during lunch. She dumped a bowl of chili on the boys and was suspended for nine days. After several more incidents, she was suspended for the rest of the school year on Feb. 6, 1958. She later transfered to New Lincoln High School in New York City. ^[2]

The Little Rock Nine were:

Analysis.

Governor Faubus.

File:Little Rock Nine thedance.jpg

The Little Rock Nine depicted in Testament, a 2005 sculpture by John and Cathy Deering, on the grounds of the Arkansas State Capitol [1].

Governor Faubus's opposition to desegregation may have been politically rather than racially motivated. Faubus had indicated that he would consider bringing Arkansas into compliance with the high court's decision in 1956. However, desegregation was opposed by his own southern Democratic Party, which dominated all Southern politics at the time. Faubus, a Democrat, risked losing political support from his own party in the upcoming 1958 gubernatorial primary if he showed support for integration.

Congressman Brooks Hays, who tried to mediate the standoff between the federal government and Faubus, was later defeated by a last minute write-in candidate, Dale Alford, a member of the Little Rock School Board who had the backing of Faubus's allies. A few years later, despite the incident with the "Little Rock Nine", Faubus ran as a moderate segregationist against Dale Alford, who was challenging Faubus for the Democratic nomination for governor in 1962.

Eisenhower's deployment of federal troops was charactered by some white southerners as a "second invasion", in reference to the Civil War and Reconstruction. This accusatoin was repeated in other federal interventions, such as the US Marshals who escorted James Meredith to University of Mississippi in 1960. As such, segregationists were just as hostile and confrontational with the "invaders" as they were to the black students.

Legacy.

During their ordeal, the Little Rock Nine were advised by Little Rock journalist and activist Daisy Bates. Bates and the Little Rock Nine received the Spingarn Medal in 1958. The Little Rock Nine were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor on November 9, 1999.

In 1996, seven of the Little Rock Nine appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show. They came face to face with a few of the white students who tormented them as well as one student who befriended them.

Little Rock Central High School still functions as part of the Little Rock School District and now houses a Civil Rights Museum to commemorate the events of 1957. ^[7]

Sources.

^ Warren, Earl, Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. Cornell Law School. Brown v. Topeka Board of Education.
^ ^a ^b ^c Craig Rains. Little Rock Central High 40th Anniversity.
^ Time (magazine) Time Magazine. "Retreat from Newport". Monday, Sep. 23, 1957.
^ Time (magazine) Time Magazine. "Case No. 3113". Monday, Sep. 30, 1957.
^ Front Pages of the Arkansas Democrat and Arkansas Gazette. Little Rock 1957.
^ Time (magazine) Time Magazine. "Lavatory Level". Monday, Oct. 21, 1957.
^ National Park Service. Little Rock Central High School, National Historic Site.

Little Rock Nine

History.

Brown v. Topeka Board of Education.

Little Rock Central High.

Analysis.

Governor Faubus.

Legacy.

Sources.

References.

See also

General References.

Further Reading.